# Quote — Joe Biden, Promises to Keep

> In spite of the president's phone call, I remained a vocal critic of the Bush administration's foreign policy priorities through that summer because I didn't trust most of the people he had around him. The civilians in the Department of Defense were unlike any I'd ever seen. They seemed to think our nation was so powerful that we could simply impose our will on the rest of the world with almost no ill consequence. It seemed to me that Rumsfeld and his chief deputy at Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, were so totally in thrall to that conservative think-tank-generated ideology that they were steering the president down a dangerous path. And they were so intent on overturning President Clinton's foreign policy initiatives that they were losing sight of the bigger goal, which was keeping America safe at home and engaged in doing good in the world.

- Author: [Joe Biden](https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden.md)
- Book: [Promises to Keep](https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep.md)
- Page: 298
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joe_Biden#Promises_to_Keep_(2008)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep/in-spite-of-the

## More from this book

> The carnage was over, but there was still a bitter taste in my mouth.

p. 284 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep/the-carnage-was.md)

> I think you're a damn war criminal and you should be tried as one.

p. 266 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep/i-think-youre.md)

> I believe all Americans are born with certain inalienable rights. As a child of God, I believe my rights are not derived from the Constitution. My rights are not derived from any government. My rights are not denied by any majority. My rights are because I exist. They were given to me and each of my fellow citizens by our creator, and they represent the essence of human dignity....

p. 194 — [Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/joe-biden/promises-to-keep/i-believe-all.md)